Mapping Recovery Update – 5/12/20
Hello community scientists,
We at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden hope you are continuing to stay safe and healthy. April showers have brought us many May flowers, and it is about time that I sent an update regarding our progress! There are ~1900 iNaturalist observations for nearly 250 species added to the project so far, and a whopping ~900 observations in AnecData. I am truly impressed and grateful for all your hard work collecting this data! Thank you all. Some trails (such as Horn Canyon) remain closed – if you would like to swap trails for any reason, shoot me an email and I’d be happy to reassign. And if you haven’t made it out, or don’t think you will survey this season for any reason at all, no problem. That said, there’s still plenty of time to see and map some great plants on our local trails!
As we continue to get warmer weather, it’s a great time to talk about phenology. If you’ve never heard the term before, phenology refers to the timing of different stages in an organisms’ life cycle and includes the study of these timings. Not all plants follow the same phenological timeline – some plants have just started to develop or open their flower buds, while others are beginning to set or drop fruit – and this seasonal variation can make identifying plants tricky if you don’t encounter them at their peak bloom. One way around this problem is to develop your “CSI:Botany” skills by finding clues in the skeletons of old plant parts – such as old fruits or flower parts. However, for some plants, you can only identify exactly which species it is during the short time they are in full bloom.
Speaking of Calochortus (also known as mariposa lilies) and phenology, a new suite of native and rare species are reaching peak bloom! It’s not too late to get out to survey (or resurvey) your trail – just make sure you bring plenty of water if you’re out on a hot day. If you decide to hit the trail in the next few weeks, you might also catch some flowering Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum. In their vegetative states, these plants don’t look like much – but they’re spectacular when they flower. You’ll generally find them in wetter, shadier places.
As for the invasive species, many thistles have bolted and are flowering at this point, and anyone who’s taken a drive along Highway 33 into the backcountry during last few weeks has probably noticed the Spanish broom (Spartium junceum) flowering – it’s an invasive shrub that does well along roadsides, but the carpets of tall yellow flowers can be rather pretty. There are two other brooms that you can keep your eyes peeled for, as well: French broom (Genista monspessulana) and Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius). The University of California has put together a helpful guide to the differences between these species and why they are a nuisance, if you are interested in learning more.
That’s all for this update! Until next time, stay healthy, and stay safe!
- Josie
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